La Kermesse Heroique DVD

Jacques Feyder's joyfully immoral satire La Kermesse heroique, undoubtedly one of the crown jewels of French cinema, was both acclaimed and damned on its release. Although the film won awards such as the Grand prix du cinema francais and, for Feyder, Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, some saw in it allusions to the Flemish collaborators during the German occupation of Belgium during World War I. Some even called it 'Nazi-inspired'.

This tongue-in-cheek farce is set in an early seventeenth century Flemish town facing invasion by the Spanish army. Foreseeing carnage and rape, the mayor plays dead in the hope that the fearsome occupiers will respect the townspeople's mourning and bypass the town. However, his rather more courageous and sophisticated wife takes control of the situation and organizes the townswomen to greet the invaders and preserve the peace with their womanly wiles.

Feyder succeeds in balancing witty farce and intimate character comedy in lush settings through which he aimed to bring to life the work of the Flemish masters. Lazare Meerson's recreations of the Flemish town and beautiful photography by Harry Stradling combine to make an unforgettable impact.

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